The Big Sleep (1978)
Director: Michael Winner
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Richard Boone
Synopsis:
An American PI in the UK takes on a case from a wealthy retired general whose daughter is being blackmailed.
Impressions:
When I was posting my review of the '46 version of the story, I was clued in to this adaptation and wanted to check it out. After seeing it, I promptly went back to rewatch the '46 version, as it had been years since I last saw it, and then went on to read the original novel. This extra effort both helps and hurts this film. It helps because I can appreciate the aspects that are more faithful to the original book but it also hurts because Robert Mitchum isn't on the top of his game here, a good 20 years too old for the role at least (reminding of Clint Eastwood being temporally miscast in Cry Macho). In Mitchum's defense, check out his work in the '75 version of Farewell, My Lovely for a better performance as Philip Marlowe. The dialog isn't as snappy as the '46 version, nor are the women anywhere near as attractive, but you could argue that that's kind of the point. Being a little more repulsed than attracted to the Sternwood girls is more fitting with the original intent.
It's interesting how the setting is adjusted to contemporary Britain (even adjusting the monetary figures to account for the currency difference and inflation; yes, I checked) and still it does more to be faithful to the original without the Hays Code looming over the production. I'm reminded a bit of how Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy also took advantage of the greater liberality of filmmaking in the 70s to really play up the grimey aspect of a crime story. The more frank portrayal may appeal to you if you're not a fan of how oblique they had to be back in the 40s. I'll also say that I prefer Oliver Reed and Richard Boone here as Eddie Mars and Lash Canino to their counterparts in the '46 version. (I think it was Hays interference that made Mars into more of a weenie in the '46 version.)
In the final tally, it's a flawed film that I certainly didn't enjoy as much as the earlier take on the story, but it's got just enough going for it that I think any noir fan will want to check it out. Give it a watch at least.
Rating:Watch It